Daily Downdraft

A distant acquaintance of mine begins every morning by reading newspapers. Most newspapers focus on the sick, insane, and truly stupid. Most mornings, by the time he’s finished reading, he is not fit to deal with anything in a rational manner. Often he’s even angry.

Russell Swank, the wisest man I ever worked with, began his mornings reading inspirational, self-help, and metaphysical books. Years before I met him, he had formed the habit of rising one hour early and devoting that first hour to aligning his mind with the ideas that would help him achieve his dreams. How well did this idea work for him? Russell went from being $800,000 in debt to a net worth of over $58 million. He was a self-made multi-millionaire who had left school in the seventh grade. Russell made his money helping others.

Earl Nightingale, an international expert on living life to the fullest, was once asked, “How long did it take you to become known as an international expert?” Earl’s answer, “One hour a day, five days a week, five years.”

Pick your career or something else that truly interests you and begin reading about it every morning for a month and see what difference it makes. Truly successful people don’t achieve their dreams by accident. To truly be alive our minds need to be fed more than daily downdrafts of garbage.